http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...627-story.html
llinois Lottery players should prepare for a bit of deja vu — with a twist — if Illinois leaders don't pass a budget by Friday night.Not only will the popular
Powerball and
Mega Millions tickets be off the shelf, but also any big winners of any of the other draw or instant games will have to wait to collect their cash.
The Illinois Lottery announced Tuesday that, without a budget or any special legislation, it won't be able to pay anyone winning $25,000 or more come July 1. If that sounds familiar, it's because the state did the same thing to players for months in late 2015 — spurring lawsuits and an estimated $70 million in lost sales — before the
General Assembly passed a special bill that allowed the agency to pay out the nearly 3,900 stacked-up claims.
